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Best of the Best: Top U.S. Interior Designers

Monday, April 6, 2015

It’s easy to take them for granted, but the spaces where we spend the most time, at home and work, contribute greatly to our wellbeing. For example, think about your kitchen at home. Most activity revolves around the sink, range and refrigerator, so your kitchen’s design should take that into consideration. If it doesn’t, you know it. The bottom line? Design is important, and we are much happier and more productive in spaces that are comfortable and appropriate for our lives.

While you probably can’t control every aspect of design at work, you most certainly can control what happens at home. Whether designing a new home or remodeling, most of us know better than to try to design it ourselves, so we employ the expertise of an interior designer. Choosing the right person for this job is paramount (for help, scroll back to our blog dated March 9), but understanding the latest trends in interior design also helps.

Each year, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) recognizes the top designers in the country – and we can glean a lot of knowledge about what’s hot (and what’s not) by looking at their work, since these designers aren’t following trends – they’re creating them.

According to the ASID, the annual Designer of Distinction Award recognizes interior designers who demonstrate a significant, high-quality body of work representing excellence in interior design. It considers their attention to social concerns and their expression of creative, innovative concepts that have advanced interior design and helped transform lives. It is one of the most prestigious design awards in existence. Here are recipients for the past five years:

Tama Duffy Day, FASID, FIIDA, LEED AP BD+C — 2014 Designer of Distinction
Throughout the past 30 years, Washington, D.C.-based Tama Duffy Day has produced an impressive body of work demonstrating the measurable effects of design on productivity, efficiency and health outcomes. She is a principal at Gensler, a research-driven global design and architecture firm. Her practice probes the healing capabilities of interior design and its capacity to influence cultures.

Robert Wright, FASID – 2013 Designer of Distinction
Robert Wright is a true advocate for the design profession and interior design education, recognizing the ways that interior design contributes to the quality and well-being of our lives. With an impressive 30-year career in interior design, he is co-founder and principal of the San Diego-based interior design firm McCormick & Wright and is also a former national president of ASID.

Rosalyn Cama, FASID – 2012 Designer of Distinction
Recognized as a key expert and pioneer in the field of evidence-based design, Rosalyn Cama is president and principal of CAMA Inc., an interior planning and design firm in New Haven, Conn. She serves as chair of the board for the Center for Health Design, is a past national president of ASID, and is an author and frequent speaker on interior design’s role in creating places of well-being.

Mariette Himes Gomez, ASID – 2011 Designer of Distinction
Over a 30-year career, Mariette Himes Gomez has made outstanding contributions to the field of residential and commercial design with a combination high-style glamour and refined simplicity. Her Manhattan firm, Gomez Associates, is known for very livable rooms with clean lines and clear architectural definition. She is widely published and the bestselling author of APARTMENTS and Rooms and Houses.

Kirsten Childs, ASID, LEED AP – 2010 Designer of Distinction
Recognized as a key leader and contributor to the growth of sustainable design, Kirsten Childs has made a lifetime of contributions to the profession of interior design and to the field of sustainable design. She is director of facilities planning and interior design at Croxton Collaborative Architects in New York City, and is a member of the ASID Sustainable Design Council and LEED for Commercial Interiors.